Crazy
by Katrina Marie Lupin
Summary: "'Crazy' can be a damaging word." Dr. Hopper. Written following "Dreams". Mr. Gold seeks vengeance for his Belle. #RumBelle, very dark subject matter.


I am writing this at 9:38 pm 10/14/2012. Last aired episode was 2.3, so I warn you that this will be AU/unrelated from here on forth, just for safety's sake. Anywho, hope you enjoy my reckless experiment!

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_'Crazy' is a damaging word.  
~Dr. Archibald Hopper_

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_ "You must promise me not to give in to your hate!"_

It was an easy thing to promise. How cruel and twisted that, for all of his reputation of being a man of his word, and honouring every deal put forth, the only promises he could break were the ones he made to those he needed the most. His wife, his son...his _Belle_. How was it he could look into her eyes, so full of blind acceptance, and knowingly take her words and twist them into an interpretation he liked, before accepting the deal. He knew what she'd been asking him. As Regina said, 'The intent was clear.' But... he was a man of contracts. Intent to pay rent didn't get the money to the bank. Which is why his contracts were always very specific – pay this amount, by this date, or the deal would be terminated. He was a slippery snake, and no one was going to take advantage of him.

...But such careful dealings weren't much good when you were trapped by an almost invisible line. He could already hear the rabble of the crowd outside his door. Even if they weren't there, he could feel them coming. He felt like a rat, cornered into a trap, and he knew – he _knew_ – that once they were done with Regina, he'd be next. And his power was not yet back. Not fully. As he gritted his teeth, the pain in his leg forever whining at him, reminding him how he'd been stripped. The tool itself lying on the floor. He closed his eyes and silently cursed his recklessness – he'd have to get down and grab that, now. Which would be ingracious, if anyone should see. How easily someone could just snatch up his cane, and push him over. Just a push, and he'd be on the ground. It _infuriated_ him to be so _weak_. Old and frail, like an aged man. He was _Rumplestiltskin_, the Dark One. He had the most powerful magick for two worlds. At his prime, he could dance a jig around any coming out princess, out duel any prince, outcurse any of the wickedest witches in the world. To be so easily destroyed was something he would not _stand_.

...The words echoed in his head, and he saw her face. He sighed. All that had happened to her... It was Regina's fault, all of it, and yet, his beloved Belle asked him to be merciful. Asked him to spare her. She said it to spare _his soul_. It was tarnished beyond all repair, he didn't know why she couldn't _understand_ that, but at the same time, he thanked her for her sincere and virtuous heart, naïve though it was.

Or it had been. The snarl returned as he thought on that discovery from the night before. The knowledge that someone had deflowered his precious Belle. And in such a horrid way – that kind of scarring of the soul stayed forever. Regina would _pay_ for this, but so would whatever monster of a man did that to her. He would find him and cut his heart out, and _eat_ it.

And if Belle didn't know, he wouldn't have to lie to her.

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A/N: Hey all! I'm new to the fandom, but it's hit me like... well, if a ton of bricks could empathise, use that metaphor. I'm a twisted person (read Dark Side or Fortitude if you don't believe me...) and as I continue writing, I realise I get a perverse joy from watching the worst cruelties of man. As Joseph Paur once sung, "There is no curse or evil spell worse than the one we give ourselves. There is no sorceror as cruel as the proud, angry fool." (_Rigoletto_, if you've never seen the rather obscure Feature Family Film.) This is a philosophy that rings in a lot of my writing – I like writing about the broken, cursed individuals, especially literally. So when I got into _Once Upon A Time_ and got to know Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold... WELL. Let's just say he holds the record for 'how many of my favourite archetypes can you cram into ONE character?', and it just keeps getting better. I recently posted "Dreams", which was a brainbug I was working on as I marathoned the last couple episodes of season 1, and then finally wrote after watching the first couple episodes of season 2. This week's episode was severely lacking in Robert Carlyle, so partly to make up for that, and partly because my reviewer made the depressingly true point that 'it's unlikely they'll mess with the asylum plotline anytime soon', I've decided to take it upon myself to get my headcanons out. Who knows? It might end up in original fiction one day – that would be _marvelous_. A combo of a bunch of my favourite things, and knocking 'asylum story' off my bucket list.


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